To what extent can a photographer transform mundane and everyday subjects into strange, wonderful and extra-ordinary images?
Idea 1 intentions For my first idea I hope to focus on experimenting with and deciding on what subjects I can use for the most part of my initial leading to my developmental photography as the mundane is something we don’t notice or try to find very often. I have chosen to do so as I believe turning something mundane Into strange and wonderful Is a challenge I have not taken on before, Capturing every-day subjects could prove to be something to expand how I have perceived photography up until now as I have mostly worked with the built up landscape. To contrast this Preference of mine I will start with much further a field locations that do not have a strong bearing On Architectural features, and possibly close-up photography.
Francisco Reina analysis Francisco Reina born in Spain, 1979 is a Spanish photographer working out of The Hague in The Netherlands. He mostly works with social, political and cultural issues, and with the role of the image in our ever more structured, daily life. I have chosen to analyse Reina as I really Like this project titled ‘The silent enigma’, Not particularly for what he has captured Here however interesting that may be but More for the concept of centralising an Object. I believe that if I can go someway In replicating this idea of taking a ‘mundane’ image and placing a higher Importance on it by having it central to the photo physically and symbolically can Allow me to explore making an every-day object wonderful. For an initial photography stage Reina has Been useful in setting out a concept for me To follow in my own way, however I will Still have to decide upon what locations And object I will include to highlight the ‘mundane’ further.
Francis Coreina examples
Andrew B. Myers analysis “Most of what I've depicted would be the light-hearted and humorous, the relationship between objects and human beings, and a smattering of my fascination with pop culture and the discovery of that which is truly interesting within the mundane." I chose to look at Andrew B. Meyers as he presents to me a strong way of relating my photography to the mundane aspect of my project, in this way he emphasises everyday objects through old fashioned and products that can be found as far back as the 1970’s. Similarly to this vintage mundane objects he presents these images in a simplistic light showing the object such as this old phone For what it really is with no overbearing features in terms of composition and Technical qualities such as lighting. Looking at the types of colours Myers has Used in this piece and across the rest of His work as well I notice he tends to use Fairly soft colours that don’t stand out too Much and almost has a cartoon look, this in turn compliments his subject-matter. This cartoon look is a feature that I would like to Experiment with in my development Stage Possibly through various filters.
Andrew B. Myers examples
Idea 1 evaluation For my first idea I wanted to focus on capturing the mundane aspect of my project, photographing process’ we go through every day such as making a cup of tea or brushing our teeth. Artist research came almost straight away with Andrew B. Myers and Francisco Reina. These two had similar ideas in that they would centralise and object on their page and place a higher importance on it by doing so. Reina initially gave me this idea to take that concept and apply it to objects I saw as being mundane around the house. Myers then allowed me to extend upon this by adding a less serious side to his imagery and so in a way cartooning his subjects. I believe I have really taken on board the concepts they present and replicated them in my own way to bring out the best in my photography. Overall I am happy with the outcome of my first idea, I believe I have been able to capture mundane through my subjects and emphasize this in my development as repetition in some pieces and having a strong cartoon style on simple not to overbearing backgrounds and colours in others.
Idea 2 intentions For my second idea I hope to come away from the concept of Capturing mundane imagery and focus more on the every-day objects That aren't so much mundane and boring but still go unappreciated or taken For granted. Whereas in my first idea I left my ideas open to a variety of objects, I will be for my second idea looking into ways of extending a single type of object over the rest of my Project. Technology is something I Find myself surrounded by everyday Without actually realising it at the time. I believe having an everyday, taken for granted outlook on technology will give me a strong starting point in where I can take my second idea.
Mauro D'Agati D’Agati began working as a professional photographer in 1996, from the outset covering many Sicilian jazz festivals, art manifestations and theatrical events. He has always been motivated by the exploration of Sicilian, especially Palermitan, culture. When looking at D’Agati’s work I found that he finds the mundane well within his home surroundings. However there was only one image I found that stood out to me that could really give me some insight into how I want to present my imagery. This human side to it is something I believe I could explore in some depth, D’Agati in this image shows technology in a more commercial and every-day use; taking this in I Think I Could in a way promote the wonders technology helps us with, such as entertainment through TV or The computer. When looking at D’Agati’s whole project I get a strong sense of ‘in the moment’ imagery, or the absence of any deep consideration into colour or composition, however for what he is capturing this feature is very effective in finding a touristy or images he has stumbled upon in his travels. I think this is something I could use to show a more domestic and commercial side of technology in use around the average home.
These are some images I found online to help formulate some ideas on how to present technology in everyday way.
Nicholas Kennedy Sitton analysis I took to the work of Nicholas Kennedy Sitton as he presents to me a concept that strikes me as being very intricate and a technical process, this in turn leads me to believe that for a development stage his work can emphasize the ‘technology sub title I have taken in under the mundane and every-day. Although our imagery is apart I believe this idea of twisting a photograph can be applied to many photos; however I realize that working with close up photos may have a different outcome to what Sitton has achieved and so trial and error will have a big part in the pieces I choose to develop.
This is a photo that I found anonymously online. I really liked this particular image above all else I have come across in my research as it sets a a warm vintage feel, after finding the original image as well I concluded that this old fashioned sense relied very heavily on a vignette through editing techniques which have darkened the colours and in turn mood of the image. This strong edited feature as seen below changes the images features drastically which I believe for the better. To extend on the work of Nicholas Kennedy Sitton I will use this idea to alter my images similarly; to make this fit in with my own likes and style however I will be looking into how far I can really push this feature to obscure and outdate my photo.
Idea 2 evaluation For my second idea I chose to focus on ways of presenting technology in an everyday use as it is something I believe we don’t notice that often but are surrounded by it every day as if it were the air we breathe. Thinking about this aspect of my second idea I think I have done really well to incorporate technology into the main title just as I would have been able with any other topic that has become mundane and an every day subject. My artist research was a bit of a struggle to find for this idea, I wanted to find someone whom I could use to show a clear difference between my first idea, after some extensive searching online I was able to find Mauro D'Agati for my initial and Nicholas Kennedy Sitton for development, I was familiar with Sittons work so I don’t believe I was challenging myself too much in terms of skill however I also found an anonymous image that allowed me to push and Challenge how far I was willing to edit my photos for my development, this is where my greatest sense of success comes from as I am very pleased with the outcomes. Overall for this second idea I believe I have been very successful as I have shown a clear progression from my first idea which I feel is a little weaker than what I have been able to produce here.
1st final outcome
2nd final outcome
3rd
final outcome
Final evaluation Looking back over my project I believe I have been able to achieve my intentions however I see this as only a partial success as I am a little disappointed with the quality of my initial photography, this is because in both ideas I was unable to reduce the noise and therefore overall look and feel of the image. Thankfully to oppose this I was able to resolve this problem in my element stage through a heavily edited quality, this is an aspect I feel I have excelled in the most. My artist research I can say for a fact was the hardest part of this project, especially so for my second idea; as I had chosen a very specific part of my original title through the medium of technology I was limited in artists who showed ideas that could relate to this in some way, on top of this if I did find a piece I really enjoyed it would often be anonymous with no substantial information about it. However all things considered I believe I was able to manage the artist research reasonably well. I have been fairly limited in what I can do in the small amount of time designated to this project compared to others I have done but even so I do believe I have been able to make good use of resources like props as subjects/objects was always going to have a large part to play in this project. I am happy I have been able to achieve everything the title required of me and more over to a good standard however much of a struggle it was to get there.